The Balmoran Horror Chronicles
by Nemorian
Summary: Strange things are happening around Balmora. Disappearances, strange deaths, disturbing dreams... they all began at the same time, but there's no apparent connection. Only one thing is certain; those who seek answers... find only death.
1. 13 Days of Madness

Day 1

We have discovered a cave hidden near Balmora, and set up residence in it. It's bizarre, really. It appears to be well furnished for a place that seems to have been abandoned years ago. None of the others seem to think much of it, but it gives me the creeps. Something must have driven out the previous inhabitants, but there's no trace of anything dangerous. Could the guards know about this place already? If so... we could be in big trouble.

---

Day 2

Today was mostly spent setting up our new hideout. We should be done setting up shop within the day, tomorrow at latest. There has been little to worry about, but I can't shake this feeling that something is wrong. Lersor suggested I should either stop drinking, or take it up depending on my current disposition toward liquor. Orn assured me there was nothing to worry about, and that Lersor was an ass on a regular basis and not to take his comments personally. I didn't. I don't have time to worry about comments with the way I feel.

---

Day 3

We have finally settled in, without incident. Perhaps my worries were unfounded. Still, I prefer to be cautious. I'm not letting my guard down for an instant. Soldiers could rush through the entrance at any moment to cut us down. Of course, that's true with any smuggler's den, but one this close to town just makes me worry more. We only move at night, but it's still too risky in my opinion. Of course trying to tell the others this is useless... they think I'm just a coward. Maybe I am, but being a living coward sounds more enjoyable than a dead hero.

---

Day 4

I haven't had time to worry about the wrenching feeling in my gut lately. We have been far too busy with our contact in Balmora. She has been sending us a lot of things to sort through and prepare for shipping to the bases around other cities. I sent Lersor on a job taking the shipment to our Gnaar Mok outpost, just to get rid of him for a while. Orn was right about him, he is one of the most annoying Dunmers I have ever had the displeasure to meet. At least he won't be back for a few days.

---

Day 5

Another average day in the life of a smuggler. Moving silently, hauling goods, faint whispers coming from somewhere. Okay, maybe the last part isn't so average. I'm starting to think I might be going crazy, since nobody else has heard anything. Though with the snoring coming from where they sleep, I'd be surprised if they could. I had Rethin, our resident mage, have a look around. He came up with nothing, and suggested I might be overworked. Maybe he's right.

---

Day 6

Lersor returned, with a load of goods no less. No wonder it took him so long to get back. Sorting through what he brought was simple enough, getting it to the suppliers was not. Orn went out shortly after dusk to deliver an unusual piece to Ra'Virr, what he wanted with a thing like that is beyond me. Who knows how a Kahjiit thinks? The other was a bag of scrolls for someone he was supposed to meet in the Eight Plates, and a small shipment of diamonds for the local alchemist. The jobs went off without a hitch. Apart from the whispers echoing in the cave, and Lersor's cheek, this has been a most enjoyable venture. I only wish this feeling of dread would leave so I could enjoy myself.

---

Day 7

One week. One long, tiring week. We've moved a lot in our short time, and the boss is pleased. I wish I was. I still hear whispers at night... but there's nothing to be found when I look for their origin. It can't be the wind, I'm too deep underground. It could be one of the others using an invisibility spell to mess with me, but I doubt any of them have enough intelligence to pull something like that off. It could be ghosts... or something worse. If I hear them tonight, I'm taking my torch and silver shortsword and slicing every inch of the air I can reach, that way I'll get it regardless of whether it's a ghost or not.

---

Day 8

I must have looked a fool, swinging wildly at air. The voices returned, so I did as planned. By the time I had exhausted myself waving my sword around, the whispers had gone. I was left in a silence, just as uneasy as before. However, I have heard nothing from them since then. Maybe now I can get some peace.

---

Day 9

Silence... beautiful, wonderful silence... save Lersor being cheeky again. I can focus on my work now, and there's plenty to focus on. Moon sugar, gems, skooma, weapons and armor... Balmora felt like the hub of activity for smugglers that preferred land travel, and most of the shop keepers there had no objections to taking illegal goods. Our contacts in the Thieves' Guild were a great help as well, providing us with detailed reports and routes of the city guards. If not for them, this probably would have been a short job.

---

Day 10

It has been quiet for the past few days. Perhaps it was simply my imagination. I truly hope so, I hope everything has decided to quiet down from now on and let me relax a bit. If I can-

[The ink scratches off, as if the writer was interrupted. The following appears to be written by someone with trembling hands

Lersor is dead. Something happened to him, but I'll be damned if I know what. It was a horrid sight, as if his chest had simply exploded. Both Orn and Rethin had been with him when it happened, and they're just as ignorant of the cause. All they know is he went rigid, spoke in an odd tone, telling them to leave this place in a voice that clearly wasn't his, and then his torso was torn apart from the inside out. They are understandably more shaken than I am, being drenched in Lersor's innards. I have given permission to everyone to leave if they wish. Orn and Rethin did so without question, along with one other. However, three stayed behind with me. I only hope the four of us haven't made a mistake.

---

Day 11

The whispers have returned. I'm not going crazy, I know that now. The other three that remained behind could hear them now as well. We try to ignore them, going about our business, but it's getting difficult. They're not just happening at night anymore, they never stop. If it wasn't because the boss would rip my head off for abandoning a prime position, I would have left with Orn and Rethin. Of course, he hadn't been here. Hadn't heard what I heard, felt what I felt. I find myself jumping at the slightest noise, and the others all seem to be on edge as well. This place... there's something wrong with it. I just wish I knew what.

---

Day 12

The voices that echo in the cavern are becoming constant, and clearer. Through I can't understand the words, I can sense their meaning. They are cold, full of hatred and bloodlust. How I know that, I cannot tell, but the more I hear the whispers the more terrified I become. My mind continues to play tricks on me, I see shadows move that simply can't be there in the first place, candles blowing out without a trace of wind, and the nightmares of unspeakable horror I see whenever I dare to sleep. One of my number had departed, and I do not blame him. I curse myself, being such a loyal fool. Or perhaps it was cowardice, as the others had said so many days ago. I feared the wrath of my boss more than this place, but that can't last long. I'm beginning to lose my mind here.

---

Day 13

We are leaving. While we were gathered in what we made the dining area, a message appeared on the cave ceiling, presumably in blood. "You had your chance to leave, now we are coming for you." It read, and the three of us that remained tore out of the area in a flash. I don't know what left that message could be, and I don't intend to find out. I'm leaving this journal here, along with a note at the entrance, to warn off any others fool enough to set up residence here. Stay away. Far away. Lest whatever protects this cave decides to come for you as well.


	2. In the Dark

The road from Balmora to Caldera. Alena had walked it many times before. The eggmine, the forks in the road, the bridge just outside of Balmora. It was all familiar, always the same. This time, however, something was different. She was crossing the bridge when she thought she heard something. A voice.

She hesitated, looking around. The sun was setting in the distance and a scrib was wandering along nearby, but the only sign of life was the faint outline of people moving way back in Balmora. There was nowhere else a voice could have come from, except...

She walked down the hill and through the shallow water leading back to the underside of the bridge. In all the times she walked this path, she never once wondered what was underneath the bridge. Why would she expect to find a door leading into the hillside there, it would make no sense building anything there, or so she thought.

It opened with a light tap, and she peered inside. Silence greeted her. She cautiously entered, wondering if what she heard might have been a group of outlaws that inhabited the cave. She took a few steps inside and around the turn in the cave. It sloped downward, and the crackle of a campfire echoed up from the depths. A lone piece of paper had been impaled on one of the roots hanging down from the ceiling.

Seven words were hastily scrawled onto it. _They are coming, run while you can._ Alena stared at it for a moment, and then discarded it as some sort of joke or a way to put people off going in deeper. She walked down the tunnel, unconsciously fingering the enchanted silver dagger on her belt. She arrived at the room with the campfire, ready for a fight.

Nothing. A small wooden platform built halfway up the wall with a bedroll and a couple barrels on it were straight ahead, and the fire she heard was between her and the passage deeper in. Beside the fire was a pot. She lifted the lid, examining the cold stew inside. It was beginning to grow mold on the top. She quickly replaced the lid and walked over to the next passage, wondering what this place was supposed to be.

At the end of the next passage she found a large room with passages to her left and right, and a table at the far end, six chairs gathered around it. They were neatly positioned, and plates of meat were set neatly in front of each one. The meat however, gave off the distinct smell of rot. Although it looked like someone could have set up the place a few minutes ago, it clearly hadn't been inhabited in a month at the least.

Turning her attention away from the dining area, she followed the path to her left. It turned into a large room. It had another upper bed area with plenty of space for storage on the side. Below it was a sparsely filled bookshelf and cushion to sit and read on, a torch mounted into the wall just above it. She glanced through the bookshelf, but didn't see anything she couldn't find at any old bookshop.

She rummaged through the upper area next. The crates and barrels held common smuggler goods, but the large chest she found was another story. Inside it was a silver shortsword and a book with no title. She picked it up and began flipping through the pages. It was a journal... one of the smuggler's that had stayed here had written it. It started out fairly normal, but then turned strange, to say the least, and ended at the thirteenth day.

Alena put the book back in the trunk and closed it, starting to feel a little scared. If this cave was really anything like that... no. It was just a tale someone made up. To keep them out of this place. That's all. She told herself firmly, walking across the room, through the dining room, and down the only passage she hadn't searched.

It was a tall, winding staircase upwards. She followed it and found four dusty bedrolls at the top. Muttering about what a waste of time this place was, she headed back toward the exit.

Then she heard it. The voice she heard before. It was coming from the tunnel leading back to the large room with the smuggler's book in it, but she still couldn't understand what it was saying. After a moment's hesitation, she hurried down the tunnel, made the corner and came to a dead stop.

The room that she had visited not two minutes ago was gone, replaced by a rickety wooden door at the tunnel's sudden end. The voice was clearer now, and she could tell it was coming from beyond that door, but still had no idea what it was saying. She slowly walked up to the door and pressed her ear against it. The door vanished the second she touched it, almost falling over. She instinctively grabbed for the silver dagger on her belt, only to find it missing. Along with the cave she thought she knew.

She was standing with her back to a solid stone wall, a narrow rock formation reaching straight ahead with no visible end, and endless darkness in all other directions. She muttered an intervention spell, but nothing happened. Recall, levitation, light, fireball... none of her spells were working for some reason.

The voice echoed again, this time apparently from somewhere along the narrow path in front of her. She called out to it, but got no reply. With no other options that she could see, Alena started along it slowly, careful not to lose her balance for a second. After a few minutes, the path came to a sudden end.

An icy voice came from behind her. She spun around, her eyes met what was on the pathway and she screamed, taking a step backwards in shock. A step right off the end of the path. She plummeted into darkness, screaming in horror as what she had seen watched her fall into the abyss.


	3. Imperial Inquiry

The Hlaalu Guard glared at the Imperial knight from behind his helmet. "Tell me, why are you here again? This is Hlaalu territory, we can handle this without Imperial help." He said crossly.

The blonde Imperial glanced up at the guard, then back down at the paper he had been reading. "Three vicious murders on the road north of town..."

"All smugglers, and that was a long time ago." The guard pointed out.

The knight ignored him. "A woman named Alena going missing..."

"It has only been two days, she could have stayed in Caldera or been attacked along the way."

"And various other unusual reports that have been coming in for the past two months."

"Nothing serious enough to involve outside forces."

The knight dropped the paper onto the table between them. "Gils, you know damn well how bad this is. Stop being so damn stubborn and accept some help! I volunteered to go on this job since I thought you might be okay with it if it was someone you knew!"

The guard leaned back in his chair, looking around the tiny area in the bottom of the guard tower. "Better you than some other idiot. I still don't like it though."

"Then don't like it. Just try to tolerate it... I'm only here to help the investigation."

Gils sighed, removing his helmet and revealing his short red hair. "I know that, Morris. I'm just not fond of your superiors insisting that we Hlaalu guards aren't able to handle this ourselves. The damned Temple isn't much help either... freaking out about a few bad dreams the locals are having."

"I'll do my best to stay out of your way, but we should at least try to work together on this." Morris said as he got up. "Keep your eyes open around town, I'm going to have a look north of town."

"All right." Gils mumbled, watching him leave. "Be careful out there."

---

"Well, that was pointless." Morris mumbled to himself as he walked along. He had just taken a look around where the corpses of the three smugglers had been found, but didn't see anything. It had been well over a month since the bodies had been found, so he hadn't seriously expected to find anything... but there was always the slim chance he would.

He started over the bridge leading back to Balmora, when a splash cought his attention. He looked over the edge, but didn't see anything. "Someone down there?" He asked, listening carefully. There was no reply, but he thought he heard a creak and a click.

Unsheathing his sword, he hurried off the bridge and down through the water to the underside of it. He found a door, but why one had been put in such a place was beyond him. A den for smugglers, perhaps? He gripped his sword tightly and pushed the door open slowly, listening for any sounds coming from inside. He stepped in, nothing standing out apart from the lit torch on the wall.

A faint sound was coming from deeper down the tunnel that lay before him, the flickering torchlight from the one on the wall making his shadow on the other waver oddly. For some reason, the sight of it coupled with the sound gave him chills. Turning his attention onto the tunnel ahead, he began to walk cautiously deeper into the cave.

He didn't even notice the note impaled on the hanging root, his attention focused on the road ahead and the sound. It was becoming clearer... it sounded like someone weeping. Daring to pick up his pace, he hurried down until he came across a filthy, makeshift dining room. He gave it a quick glance before he realized the weeping had ceased.

Morris glaced down the tunnels to the left and right, and saw a glimmer of metal on the one to the left. He approached it carefully, his eyes darting from the object to the curve in the tunnel in case it was an ambush. The object turned out to be a dagger, enchanted by the look of it. He was about pick it up, when he heard an odd sound.

Glancing into the room the tunnel led to, he saw a woman on the other side of it, her face paler than he thought any Dunmers' could get. She started walking toward him unsteadily, using the wall for support. Tears were streaming down her face, and she looked terrified.

"Help me..." She said weakly, taking another step. Before he could even think of giving her a reply, her eyes widened and she looked over her shoulder at the wall. She turned back quickly, her breathing becoming rapid. "They're... they're coming... you have to run... they'll get you too..." She stuttered as she took two more paces forward.

He scanned the area behind her, there were no other doors and no sign of anyone else. However, it was clear she thought something was after her. "Who's coming? Who's after you?" He asked as calmly as he could.

She stared at him and opened her mouth, but took a sharp intake of breath, her expression going blank. Dropping to her knees, she leaned against the wall and slowly slumped onto the ground.

"Hey!" All caution aside, Morris rushed over to her. He went to lift her up, but pulled back the second he touched her body. It was stone cold... as if she had been dead for hours. Reaching down again, he rolled her onto her back. Looking her over, two things became clear. This was Alena, the woman who had gone missing two days ago, and she was now very much dead.

He sighed, standing up. He wouldn't be able to carry her corpse back on his own, so getting Gils to help would be the best option. Sheathing his sword, he headed back to the exit, picking up the dagger he had passed by earlier as he went, assuming it belonged to Alena.

---

Morris stopped short when he arrived back in Balmora. Something was off. Scanning the town, he couldn't see anyone. Thinking it was just his timing, and that he was a little shaken from the events in the cave, he walked along the river that ran through town, looking for signs of life.

He found a desolate town, no signs of anyone moving around. Even the silt strider was missing. Beginning to think something was seriously wrong, he heard a groan come from behind him. Turning, he found himself staring at what was crossing the bridge over the river, coming straight at him. A bonewalker.

Unsheathing his sword, he dashed forward and slashed it across the chest. The bonewalker toppled off the bridge, splashing into the river below. Before he could wonder how a bonewalker got into town, there was a clink of metal off to his left. A skeleton was rushing toward him, its sword drawn. He rushed it, cutting it down with ease.

The door to the building he was now in front of swung open, and another bonewalker ran out of it. He ran it through as a reflex, looking around the town as he removed his sword from it. What were all these undead doing in Balmora? It made no sense.

A cry came from behind him, and spun around to find himself face to face with a dremora. He swung at it without a second thought, but it was ready, blocking his sword with its own. He slashed at it again and again, but it parried his attacks easily. The dremora was staying on the defensive, so he thought he had the upper hand. Taking a lunge at it, he realized too late that he was wrong. It moved to the side, avoiding his attack and countering with a thrust.

Morris dropped his sword as the dremora's blade tore through his chest. He dropped to his knees, his body throbbing. The dremora withdrew its sword and stared down at him, he returned its gaze, his vision going blurry. The dremora's eyes beginning to glow red was the last thing he saw before everything went black.


	4. Seekers

Seekers

I dropped to my knees, exhausted. "Raven… wait…" I wheezed, looking down the road ahead. My vision was getting blurry, but one glance told me my so-called 'ally' was nowhere in sight. With as fast as she had been running, she was probably already to Balmora. I gripped my side, which was throbbing from the tight cramp that brought me to the ground. Hoping to relieve some of the pain, I muttered a healing spell and tried to relax.

"Useless Breton!" Someone shouted from behind me. I instinctively jumped up to defend myself, only to stumble from the pain and trip over my own feet. I hit the ground again, elbow first. If it wasn't for the soft dirt, I might have broken my arm... though that didn't make it hurt any less. "Get off your rear, Andre! We're on a mission!" The voice yelled again.

I glared up at the slender, black-haired Dunmer standing over me. Raven was the name she went by, but it was obviously an alias. Still, she was striking… striking my legs at least… with her foot… hard. "Get up, you stupid rookie!" She shouted, continuing to kick me.

"OW! Would you sto-OW! Kicking so I co-OW! Could get up?!" I countered, scurrying away from her swinging limb. At least she wasn't wearing anything harder than leather boots. I got to my feet, ignoring the pain in my arm, side and legs. If it wouldn't have ended in more pain, I would have told her off. I'm not that stupid though.

"Come on, Sethes is expecting us to report back in a week. Why I'm stuck with a rookie like you I'll never know. What the hell was he thinking?" She complained.

"That I needed experience and this was an easy way to get some?" I asked, a hint of malice in my voice. I had been a smuggler all my life, Sethes thinking I might be inept at the job just ticked me off. This jerk of a partner wasn't helping either. "Why are going to look at some old smuggler's den anyway? From what I gathered, the old group that holed up there either vanished or died horribly over two months ago."

"Sethes thinks it might be worth occupying again. Whatever happened didn't sound like the work of guards or knights, so they probably still don't know about the place." She explained. "Balmora's a prime spot, if we could get set up so close to the city again it would be perfect."

"If you say so." I muttered unenthusiastically, some smuggling spot didn't matter much to me unless I was working there. "Let's just get there before nightfall. I hate traveling in the dark."

Raven nodded in agreement and walked by me, still insistent on leading the way even though I knew where I was going. Still, at least she wasn't running off or kicking me again.

We approached Balmora from the north so we wouldn't have to go through town. We may not have had bounties on our heads at the moment, we weren't generally recognizable enough for that, but we didn't want to be seen around a town with string of recent, very bizarre goings-on and then happen to be identified. We'd probably end up getting blamed.

I was staring up at the clouds rather vacantly, trying to avoid getting into another angry exchange with Raven, when she suddenly tackled me to the ground. Before I could begin flinging rude language at her, her hand was pressed over my mouth. Her gaze however, was over the rock we had landed behind.

I struggled enough to get a glimpse around the rock at someone walking up the incline that led under the bridge into Balmora. It was an Imperial knight with golden hair, he seemed to be distracted by something, because I could have sworn he looked right at my face peering around the rock with no visible reaction. He simply turned and crossed the bridge, heading back toward Balmora.

"Damn it all." Raven growled, standing up. "He must have found the den. Sethes isn't going to be happy about that." She hesitated for a moment, then hurried up the hillside.

I followed after her as best I could; she was far more agile than I was. We followed the edge of the wall around the city and entered discreetly, Raven watching the Imperial whenever he was in view. We stopped in one of the narrow alleys between the buildings on the east side of the river, as the Imperial walked along the west side.

I was about to inquire about why exactly we were tailing him, when I noticed something. Someone was standing in the northern archway out of Balmora, but I could only see part of their silhouette from where I was standing. Something seemed unusual about it, but I wasn't sure why.

A scream got my attention. I turned back to the Imperial just in time to see someone fall into the river. I didn't have time to ask Raven what had happened before one of the Hlaalu guards went running across the bridge at the Imperial with his sword in the air and was swiftly cut down. I stared in shock at the Imperial as he withdrew his sword from the dead guard. A Nord dashed out of the house by the Imperial and was promptly killed as well. Something was very, very wrong here.

A Dunmer in standard Hlaalu guard equipment, save his helmet, ran around the corner and stopped short when he saw the Imperial. It sounded like he was trying to reason with the Imperial… or curse him, I couldn't hear clearly. Regardless of what had been said, the Imperial was now swinging wildly at the Dunmer, but being blocked at every attack. After a brief, one-sided assault, the Dunmer finally countered and finished the Imperial in one thrust.

Forcing myself to look away, I noticed the silhouette in the archway disappear out of view. Whoever was standing there was leaving town. Unsure of what was compelling me to do so; I left the alley and ran along the river toward where it had been. Raven yelled something, but I ignored her. Trying to explain would have taken too long, and I wasn't sure I could make an explanation that didn't sound crazy.

I jumped into the river and swam under the wall to save time that would have been spent going over the bridge across and out the archway. It was a good thing I did; the silhouette came into view for an instant, then vanished under the bridge where the Imperial had come from. I hurried after it, dashing through the shallows and bursting through the doorway hidden beneath the bridge outside of town.

I didn't even get a chance to see what the inside of the cave looked like. Not even a second after I ran through, everything went black. I skidded to a halt, and heard the door close behind me. I took up the chitin club that had been hanging on my belt and swung it at what I thought was the doorway.

"Who's there, what's going on?!" I yelled in a panic. There was no response, and I backed up slowly, unsure of which way I was going. I didn't hear anything, and all I could smell was reminiscent of rotting meat. I silently cursed whoever, or whatever, had done this to me. Blinding spells were a cheap trick in my opinion.

I heard something… a faint, familiar voice coming from somewhere. It was Raven. "Andre, where the hell did you run off to you idiotic Breton?!" She was yelling. As unpleasant as she was, it was a relief to hear her voice.

I turned, guessing which direction the door was based on her voice. "I'm in he-" Was all I managed to shout in reply before my words were cut off by the point of a blade sinking into my throat.


	5. Specialist

The torchlight flickered upon the face of a Dunmer woman with a dire expression. She closed her eyes and sighed. "Are you certain, Telis?" She asked softly.

"Yes, Feldrelo. The investigator we sent out was found dead today." The brown-robed Dunmer behind her replied, looking at the paper in his hand. "Not to mention the reports have continued to get worse over the past month or so."

"We've lost three people that we sent out for answers. People have been dying and disappearing. What could be causing all this?" Feldrelo wondered aloud, turning to Telis. "Using what the investigators found before their losses, have you been able to find out anything useful?"

Telis heistated, then removed another paper from his pocket. "It's... not much, you understand, but they might have figured out when it all began." He skimmed the paper for a moment. "It seems like it began around two months ago. Reports steadily began to rise about then."

"Two months ago? Are you certain?" Feldrelo asked, her eyes widening.

"I-I'm afraid so." He stuttered, returning the paper to his pocket. "I take it you... have gotten the same idea I had?"

"Yes..." She mumbled, turning away and staring vacantly into the torch mounted on the wall, her mind lost in thought. They stood in silence for almost two minutes before she spoke again. "Telis... do you truely think... this could be our fault?"

He shifted his gaze to the floor. "I don't know. It seems doubtful, be we shouldn't discount the possibility yet."

She faced him again, but he kept his attention on the floor. "Have you discussed the idea with Sovara?"

"Yes. She was unsure, but thought it may be worth looking into at some point." Telis said unenthuciastically. "Perhaps we should wait for our eager young acolyte to return first."

"Ah, yes... Direr accompanied him, correct?"

Telis nodded. "I only wonder if he is right in thinking that he knows someone that can help."

"If they are related to the one that stole from the Temple, it is unlikely they can accomplish anything we have not. However, given the situation... I am willing to accept help from wherever I can get it."

"If he did help, would you keep what you promised?" Telis inquired. "I don't think the Imperial Legion will release someone simply because you ask them to."

Feldrelo thought about it for a moment, but was never given the chance to answer. A blonde Breton in a robe to match Telis' ran into the room yelling something, and was closely followed by Dunmer in a red robe.

"Master... he... said..." The Breton panted, clutching his side as he came to a stop.

"I told you that you'd get a cramp running so far without a break, Miles." The Dunmer scolded him, shaking his head.

"Direr, welcome back. How did things go in Gnaar Mok?" Feldrelo asked, looking at him intently.

"Master agreed!" Miles announced between breaths.

"Excellent..." Telis said, glancing at the doorway. "...but where exactly is this 'Master' you said is going to help us? Is he not with you?"

Direr shook his head. "I'm afraid not. He said he had to gather his things before coming. He should arrive before nightfall."

"What was your impression of him, Direr? Did he seem like someone that could help us?" Feldrelo inquired.

Direr glanced at Miles, who was still trying to catch his breath. "To be quite honest, went I first saw him I believed we would recieve more aid from a scrib."

Miles opened his mouth to object, but a wheeze escaped instead of words.

"However, that was only my first impression." Direr continued. "He does seem intelligent enough, and very determined after I said you may be able to get his brother out of prison if he was successful. If you can withstand his rather... egotistical attitude, he may be a great help to us."

"I see." Feldrelo muttered.

"He will be." Miles said, finally able to stand up straight even though his breathing was still uneven. "My Master is a fantastic mage. I'm sure he'll be able to help us!"

"Miles and I promised to help him any way we could when he got here, so we can keep an eye on his progress for you." Direr added.

Telis glanced at Miles. "I hope you're right about him, boy."

"The Legion, House Hlaalu, and the Guilds are all looking into it, from what I hear. Someone's bound to come up with something eventually." Direr said, crossing his arms.

"Yes." Feldrelo turned to face the torch again. "We can only hope it's before Balmora is lost."

A Dunmer in a fancy purple robe walked along the Odai River toward Balmora, his attention focused on the book in his hands. Miles had given it to him before running off with that odd Direr fellow. The book contained a record of the odd events that had been plaguing Balmora over the last few weeks.

He skimmed the pages, muttering to himself. "Dead traveler... missing woman... dead smuggler... dead mage... random nightmares... what a cheery read." He closed the book, shaking his head and slipping it into his robe. "It's no wonder they needed help... and who better than me to offer that help?"

He glanced at the road ahead, Balmora's southern archway had come into view. His pace slowed; something seemed off. The blur of someone running on the other side of the arch, and the clash of metal nearby made him hesitate for a moment, then break into a run.

Heading back toward the river after passing through the archway, he found the source of the commotion. A Dunmer dressed as a Hlaalu Guard, save the standard helmet, was standing over the body of an Imperial Knight, a bloodied sword in his right hand. Two more corpses lay nearby, one on the bridge and the other a couple feet behind the fallen Imperial, both of which looked to be average citizens.

"So much for stopping by the Eight Plates for a drink before getting down to business. What in the world happened here?" He asked, startling the Dunmer guard.

The guard looked back at him, but didn't turn. "I don't know... he just went crazy, attacking people. I can't believe he'd do something like that..." He mumbled, obviously shocked by what had happened.

"I see... how strange." The Dunmer mumbled, examining the Imperial's corpse.

A few moments of silence passed, and a small crowd began to gather around the scene before the guard spoke again. "What are you doing?"

The Dunmer was now crouched down, digging through the Imperial's pockets and didn't bother to stop when he answered. "I'm looking for a cause. He must have lost control for a reason, and it's my job to find it."

"What the hell? I'm the guard here, you're not even from Balmora, why is it your job?" The guard asked crossly.

"Because I'm a specialist hired by the Temple, since nobody else is getting results fast enough." He said, taking a dagger from the Imperial's corpse and standing up. "My name is Razelus Romandas..." He pointed the dagger in his hand at the guard. "...and you're in for a shock."


	6. Factions

A crowd was beginning to gather around some sort of commotion by the river. Cleval hurried over as quickly as his short legs would allow, wondering what was going on. There was no need to avoid the guards now that Phane had taken care of his little problem. Of course, in a crowd that size, a Bosmer would be easily overlooked even if they were still after him.

He crouched down to get a view of whatever was going on, looking between the legs of a Nord in his way. Three people caught his attention. One was an Imperial Knight, dead on the ground. The other was one of the Hlaalu Guards, easy to recognize even without the standard helmet. The the third person was a rather tall Dunmer, at least compared to the ones he usually saw, in a purple robe.

"What the hell?! Stay back!" The Hlaalu guard yelled, brandishing a dagger at the Dunmer.

"I told you it would be a shock." The Dunmer replied calmly. "Yes, I was surprised as well... it takes talent to pull something like that off."

"Come any closer and I'll-" The guard began, but was promptly cut off by the Dunmer.

"Oh come now, don't tell me everyone in a position of authority is this dense." He complained, swiftly raising his right hand and hitting the guard with a spell.

He grunted, visibly straining to stay upright for a moment before dropping to the ground with a heavy thud. "W-what is... going on?" He muttered, unable to move.

The Dunmer removed a piece of cloth from his pocket, covering the dagger in the guard's hand with it before picking it up. "Now then, if you're done acting foolish... we have work to do. The burden spell should wear off in a few seconds."

The guard looked up at him, clearly confused. "What happened? How did you suddenly turn into a daedroth and back?"

The Dunmer sighed. "Fool. I didn't change, the dagger's enchanted. It's some kind of Illusion magicka... when I was holding it, you looked like a dremora. That knight..." He looked down at the knight's corpse. "...he had the dagger tucked into his belt, the hilt must have been pressed against his skin. Since he was still in contact with it, the illusion was in effect."

"You... you're telling me..." The guard muttered, trying to sort things out in his head. "That he was just being tricked? That I killed Morris because of..." He trailed off, sitting up. The burden spell having faded during the explanation without his noticing.

"It was simply bad luck on his part. Ours as well, since he can't tell us where he found it now. I had best study it further... perhaps I can learn something from it." The Dunmer said, walking off and staring at the dagger.

The guard stared at the knight's corpse for a moment before getting up and going after the Dunmer. He ordered one of the other guards that had arrived on the scene to take care of the bodies as he left, and Cleval scurried off to the South Wall Cornerclub before he was noticed.

--

"Is that right?" Phane mumbled as he worked on something behind the counter. Cleval had just finished telling him about what had happened by the river. "An odd development, I'd say. An illusion-inducing dagger and a mysterious Dunmer. I'm not sure what you want from me though, Cleval. It's not exactly my concern, nor that of the Guild's."

"Don't give me that, Phane. You know what's been happening as well as I do. Don't tell me you haven't had at least one of those nightmares." Cleval persisted.

Phane said nothing for a moment, then sighed. "Yes, I have had a few... unpleasant dreams. However, that still has little to do with the Thieves' Guild."

Cleval slammed his fists on the countertop. "Why not!? Everyone else is involved in some way! The Temple is on a witch hunt. The Mages' Guild have been sending scouts or something out to investigate. The Fighters' Guild is looking to kill something, of course that's not much different than before. I saw two people sneaking around that could be in league with... him. The Legion and House Hlaalu are even straining to work together to figure things out! Why do we sit idly by and not try to help?!"

Phane looked over the counter at Cleval. "Because, as I said before, it's not-"

"Don't say it!" Cleval snapped. He glared at Phane, lowering his voice. "And don't tell me you haven't spotted the connection! It's almost like what happened before, only it's not isolated!"

Phane looked away at something behind the counter. "I don't know what you're talking about." He mumbled.

"I know damn well you remember." Cleval lowered his voice to little more than a whisper. "I know the memory haunts you... it must. The whole thing is engraved in my head, and you were with me the whole time. That cavern... the stench of blood and decay... the cleaved, gutted bodies all around us... nobody could forget that."

Phane's face had gone pale. Clearly he still remembered, as much as he didn't want to. "There's... no real proof connecting what happened then to now. Or that place to anything else." he said quickly.

"Have you gone back there to look for anything that might show a connection?"

"N-Never. I'm never going back to t-that... place." Phane stammered, shaking his head. "It's cursed or something... everyone that's gone there has turned up dead."

"We're still alive, aren't we?" Cleval countered. "We both went into that cave two years ago... and we haven't died yet. What do you call that?"

"Luck I'd rather not press. If you want to risk your life, be my guest. I don't want any part of it." Phane said stubbornly.

"Fine... but if anything happens-"

"It's your own fault."

Cleval stared at him for a moment, then silently got off his stool and started toward the staircase up.

"Cleval."

He stopped, glancing back at Phane.

Phane tossed him a small bag. "Don't let your guard down... all right?"

Cleval pocketed the bag, smirking. "Never do."

--

The door opened with a creak, and Cleval stared hesitantly into the cave beyond. Talking about it was easy enough... but now that he was actually here it seemed next to impossible to walk inside after what he had come across last time. He took a few deep breaths before forcing himself to cross the threshold.

The cave was as he remembered it, although it was missing the corpses lining the walls. That was probably for the best though. His attention was quickly drawn to something on the ground; a red blot on the ground. No need to guess what it could be... it had to be blood, and fairly fresh from the look of it. That's all he needed... someone or something lurking down here. Still, it was a step in the right direction to prove there was a link between the cave and Balmora's recent... troubles.

He walked all through the cave, but didn't find anything unusual until he came to a large room with a sturdy wooden platform built into the wall as a makeshift second story. It appeared to be set up as a single bedroom, probably for whomever was in charge at the time. He could see a bedroll, chest and some crates on the platform, and there was a bookshelf and some cushions next to a campfire under it. What made this room stand out was laying at the foot of the ramp to the upper platform; a corpse.

Cleval kept his dagger ready as he approached, just in case it was a trick. It was a Dunmer woman, laying sprawled out on her back. Her skin had gone pale from blood loss, but there wasn't a drop around her corpse. There was a long slash starting at the center of her throat that twisted around her neck and stopped halfway down her left shoulder. With that much damage done, and no blood in sight, he thought she had to have been moved here. Though he wasn't sure why.

He headed up to the platform, and began rummaging through what was left of the smuggler's goods. He slipped a couple emeralds he came across into his pocket, despite the situatiion... old habits die hard, after all. It didn't take long to find an old smuggler's journal that had been placed in a chest. And what was written in it made him even more certain something here was causing the strange events in Balmora.

Journal in hand to show Phane, he turned to leave... and stopped dead when he saw someone by the way down. The Dunmer corpse he passed was now hovering in the air, slowly drifting toward him. He took a step back, bumping into the chest and looking for somewhere to run. Apart from rushing the floating dead, or undead, or whatever it was, he could leap over the crates and off the platform. It would be an awkward jump since the ceiling was so close, and if he landed wrong it could go bad quickly.

As he contemplated the jump, the glimpse of a shadow in the tunnel leading out caught his eye. It had moved out of view, but he was certain he saw something. Regardless of what it was, instinct told him to stay far away from it. He turned to the levitating Dunmer, which was almost in reach, and slipped his hand into his pocket, and then into the bag Phane had given him. He pinched the folded paper inside and muttered something, vanishing in a flash.

--

The next thing Cleval knew, he was standing outside the Temple in Balmora. He may not have gone very far, but at least he wasn't around any floating corpses or moving shadows anymore. Making a mental note to thank Phane for the intervention scroll, he started walking back to the South Wall. It was just past dusk, and he still felt a uneasy about his encounter in the cave. The sooner he got back, the better.

He sprinted along the river, turning to cross the second bridge and skidding to a halt when he was what was at the other end. Once again, he found himself looking at a very pale corpse with a twisted slash around its neck in the same way the other had been. Luckily, this one was on the ground, at least for the moment. It was a Breton man, his arm hanging limply over the side of the bridge. And a dagger still stuck in his throat.

Cleval cautiously approached it, giving his surroundings a quick glance. It struck him as odd that no guards had found the body, one usually patrolled by here regularly. He hadn't seen any on the way... but it's not like he had been looking for them. He had been more focused on getting far away from that cavern.

He crouched down by the corpse. It was the same as before; not a trace of blood on the ground. So did someone drag the body through town just to drop it here? It seemed like a stupid thing to do... and reckless since it would be easy to spot someone lugging a corpse along with them.

Cleval reached for the dagger stuck in the Breton's neck to get a better look at it, since something seemed off. Someone nearby yelled as he gripped the hilt, but the searing pain that shot through his body kept him from understanding what. All he heard was his own agonized screaming, and a blinding light that was obsuring his vision faded to black as his senses died away with him.


	7. Lithe

Edwinna skimmed the latest report Ajira had sent her about the happenings in Balmora. She had been sending them for the past month, and openly expressed the opinion that Ranis, the head of the Balmoran Mages' Guild branch, hadn't been trying to resolve the problem as well as she could have been. This time she was requesting that Edwinna sent help from Ald-Ruhn, thinking an outside view might help.

Edwinna glanced up from the report at the two people sitting at the nearby table. One was a Breton man with shoulder-length brown hair, the other a Dunmer woman with brown hair tied back into a ponytail. They were talking about something to do with enchanted jewelry, but Edwinna decided to interrupted them. Especially considering who the Breton was.

"All right, you two." She said, walking over to the table. "Ajira sent me another little report, and apparently it's getting worse down there. She has asked me to send someone down to help. I'm looking at you, Nem."

The Breton looked up at her with an irritated expression. "Trying to send me off on another suicide mission? Not a chance. I'm supposed to go off and find you some old book, aren't I? I've got that to take care of, so find someone else." He said shortly, getting up and heading to the nearby staircase. "And Trelana has that report to write up yet, so don't bother asking her. See you both in a few days."

Edwinna glared at Nem's back as he disappeared from view over the staircase. She looked down at Trelana, who was bearing a forced, nervous smile. "I hate that man." Edwinna grumbled.

"He's not too fond of you either, Edwinna." Trelana said with a nervous laugh. "Though since you've treated him like dirt since he arrived, so I can't blame him." Edwinna turned her glare to Trelana, and she immediately shifted her attention from Edwinna to the report on the table she had been writing.

There were a few moments of silence before Edwinna spoke, but it wasn't to Trelana. "You there. Hold it."

A young Breton woman with short black hair who had been walking down the stairs stopped dead. "Y-yes?" She stuttered.

"You've shown some promise while you've been here, Lithe. How would you like to try something challenging?"

"Uh... um... okay..." She muttered nervously.

--

Lithe looked around the Balmoran Mages' Guild as she appeared. The Guild Guide gave her a nod as she stepped off the stone rise that made up the teleporting platform. It looked like the small room she was in was used as an alchemist's shop as well as the teleportation service, judging by the mingle of odors and alchemy tools on the nearby table.

A Kahjiit set down the pestle she had been holding upon noticing Lithe, taking a step toward her. "You come from Ald-Ruhn?" She inquired.

"Ah... yes." Lithe mumbled. "Edwinna said to... um... I'm Lithe... you're Ajira, correct?"

The Kahjiit nodded. "Yes. Come." Ajira turned, walking over to the desk near the door and began collecting things from the drawers. Lithe followed slowly, not really sure what to expect. Edwinna had said Ajira could inform her about the recent events after she arrived, but from what she gathered about Edwinna's demeanor on the situation, it was nothing good.

Ajira handed a small stack of papers to Lithe. "These are records Ajira has kept about events happening she knows of. There may be more she does not, but this will help Lithe's search."

"Oh... thank you." Lithe said, looking through the papers as Ajira returned to whatever potions she had been working on before.

Leaving Ajira to her work, Lithe wandered into the next room, noticing a few beds set up for guild use. She sat down on the bed in the far corner, placed the papers on the bedside table and started to read.

--

The clouds beginning to gather did nothing good to Lithe's hopes that whatever was happening would end well. After she finished reading the notes from Ajira, the whole thing sounded like it was far too much for her to handle. What had Edwinna been thinking to send her off on a mission like this?

She sighed, looking down to the road ahead. She had been asking around at the shops, but didn't find out anything new from those that would speak to her. The pawnbroker refused to even mention it, worried she might be the next one to die talking about the events carelessly.And the trader Ra'Virr was no better, though it seemed to be because his attention was on a silver statuette of a guar that he said had recently come into his possession.

Either way, she had nothing to show for her investigation yet. She was on her way up to the main House Hlaalu building, hoping they might share a rumor at the least, when someone caught her attention. A Redguard. He was standing at the door to one of the guard towers, obviously interested in whatever was happening inside.

Curious, she approached him to find out if it had something to do with her search, but he suddenly ran off when she was a few feet away. She watched him run off, feeling rather confused. He hadn't noticed her, she was sure of that... so why-

The door creaked open, startling her. A tall, robed Dunmer looked her over. "Well, when Gils said someone was outside, I certainly didn't expect this." He said, stepping outside.

"W-what? No, that was..." She trailed off, looking in the direction the Redguard had gone. He was nowhere in sight now.

"Don't worry about it. We all want this to be over, and it would be best to work together." He said with a smile. "After all, it's harder to kill off a group than a lone investigator."

She stared at him, unsure of what to say. Another Dunmer, this one clad in bonemold armor, emerged from the doorway behind the first.

"This the one spying on us?" He inquired.

The Robed Dunmer shook his head. "No, that one heard us coming and ran off. She just happened to be here."

The armored Dunmer looked at her suspiciously for a moment, before starting to walk off. "All right. I'll go instruct the some of guards to do a quick sweep of the roads outside town. Since you seem to think it'll help. You had better be right, Razelus."

"Like you'll soon see, I'm always right." He answered with a smug grin.

Lithe glanced at Gils' retreating back, then to Razelus, who was staring intently at her.

"Mages' Guild, correct?" He stated more than asked. "No doubt you're looking for the cause of these troubles as well. I certainly could use the aid of someone I didn't wish to fry, so come with me." He turned back to the door, pushing it open. "I'll tell you what I know."

--

It took almost half an hour for Razelus to stop talking. Even though she had read most of what he mentioned in Ajira's notes, she got enough new information that it was worth sitting through his rather lengthy explanation. The two of them left the guard tower, Lithe still mulling a few things over.

"So... someone enchanted the dagger to make anyone that touched it see monsters instead of people?" She wondered aloud.

"Yes." Razelus nodded, starting in the direction of the Odai River which ran through down. "Such an item could only be made by a powerful Illusionist. However, those bandits killed two months ago were neatly sliced to pieces with a blade, according to the reports."

"A spellsword?" Lithe suggested.

Razelus shook his head. "It seems doubtful. No spellsword I'm aware of could hope to achieve both that level of Illusionary magicka and precision with a blade."

"What... what are we up against then?"

"I could guess, but I'd rather not simply speculate on what could be. I'm here to find the truth, not theories." He said stubbornly, turning his attention to the river ahead.

"It couldn't hurt to think a few possibilities over, though..." She mumbled.

He didn't reply. Something on the bridge had caught his attention. A Bosmer was crouched over someone with a dagger in their throat. His first thought was of a murder taking place, but the obvious lack of blood suggested otherwise. The Bosmer started reaching for the dagger when Razelus yelled. "No, stop!"

A flash lit up the bridge and agonized screaming echoed through the town as the Bosmer was engulfed in flames upon touching the dagger. It only lasted a few seconds, but when the flames had died, all that was left of the Bosmer was a blacked lump.

Razelus dashed over, but Lithe didn't move. She was staring at both corpses in shock. She hadn't had much field experience before this, and it was only her third time seeing a dead body... but neither of those before these had been so mutilated. The smell of burnt flesh drifting over made her take a few steps back.

A voice to her right made her jump. She turned to see the Redguard that had been listening outside the tower door peering from around the side of one of the buildings at Razelus and the guards that had arrived. He muttered something she couldn't understand and began to run toward the north gate out of town.

Lithe looked from him to Razelus, who was now too wrapped up in talking with Gils to notice anything. She turned back to the Redguard, hesitating for a moment before giving chase. Narrowly avoiding a collision with a Breton and Dunmer heading in the other direction,

The moment she passed through the gate out of town, she saw the Redguard leap off the bridge into the shallow water below. She followed slowly, speeding up only after she heard a door close. She decided to slide down the slope at the other end of the bridge instead of jumping, afraid she might be heard if she had landed in the water. Working her way around as quietly as possible in knee-deep water, she came to a door into the hillside under the bridge.

Listening for any noise on the other side before entering, she pushed the door open slowly, peeking through. It was quiet inside, but the flicker of firelight could be seen coming from somewhere around the curved tunnel inside. She crept in, cringing at the squeak of the door as it opened further. She hadn't gone more than three steps inside when she heard a lone footstep behind her and felt something hard connect with the back of her head.


	8. The Temple's Secret

Direr stared at Miles, who was flipping through a book faster than anyone could possibly read. It was clear his mind was elsewhere. Most likely thinking about Razelus, his old master. Direr thought back to when they arrived at Razelus' house in Gnaar Mok. The haggard-looking Dunmer that opened the door, and the disgusted look that grew across Razelus' face when he caught sight of Miles.

If he hadn't gone along with Miles to recruit the Dunmer, it's doubtful that Razelus would have even listened. After all, he had been the one to do most of the convincing. Every time Miles dared to speak, Razelus shot him a look that clearly stated "Shut up, or else."

Miles closed the book he had been flipping through, beginning to tap his fingers on the table absent-mindedly. Direr sighed. He wasn't all that fond of the Breton, really... he was rather annoying at times, and asked far too many questions... but Feldrelo had made Miles his responsibility to train. And it was rather difficult to do when he was distracted by other things.

"Are you all right?" Direr asked.

"No..." Miles said dryly. "Master Razelus is still mad at me for what I did. Is it a Dunmer thing to hold a grudge so long, or just him?"

"I don't know him well enough to say for certain." Direr replied, crossing his arms. "If you want him to drop whatever he has against you, helping him in some way may shift his opinion for the better."

Miles thought about it for a moment, before standing up. "You're right, Direr. I'm going to help him find the cause of this misfortune plaguing Balmora, he'll have to forgive me then!"

Direr stared at him, a bit surprised he'd jump to a conclusion that reckless. "I hope you mean just researching here at the Temple for clues... Miles..." he watched as the Breton gathered up his things, a newfound determination in his eyes.

"Not a chance. I have to work with him. It's the only way to prove to him I'm not a useless traitor." Miles said, putting a book into the left inside pocket of his robe. "An enchantment book... yeah, that'll help." He mumbled to himself.

"Don't you remember what happened to the other investigators?" Direr said, a note of worry in his voice. "You could be killed."

"Not a chance. I'll be with Master Razelus, he won't let me die even if he does hate me for what I did. I know it."

Direr sighed. The fool's reckless side was coming out. He hadn't seen it before now, though. "All right, if you're going to help him, I'll join you. You're my pupil after all, I can't have you go off and die on me."

Miles smiled at him. "Thanks, Direr."

--

They were walking down the hill from the Temple in the direction of the Odai River, when Direr noticed a group of people beginning to gather around the bridge. "Now what?" He muttered to himself.

"Come on!" Miles yelled, running toward the bridge.

Direr hurried after him, a Breton woman dashing in the opposite direction almost crashing into both of them. He slowed down, turning to watch as she fled through the archway leading out of town. Miles called out to him again, his curiosity about the woman fading the second he saw what was on the bridge.

A pair of corpses... or at least, that's what he thought the second was. It was burned so badly he couldn't figure out if it had been a person or animal. The other was a Breton, a slash circling his neck and down one shoulder.

"A Bosmer, burned to death by that dagger? That certainly sounds familiar." Someone nearby said, getting Direr's attention.

Gils was facing Razelus, who was holding up a dagger half-covered by a cloth. Miles was standing to Razelus' right, but seemed to be going unnoticed by both of them.

"Quite right. A very similar fashion in the way that Imperial Knight was deceived." Razelus wrapped up the dagger, putting it into his pocket.

"What about how the Breton was killed? The slash around his neck, what does it mean?" Gils wondered.

"Difficult to say. It could have been done out of someone's twisted enjoyment, it could be ritualistic... or it could just be there to confuse us." Razelus said, glancing at the Breton's corpse. "We need a clue. If we had somewhere to investigate properly-"

"I have an idea." Direr said suddenly, getting everyone's attention. "We may be able to get some information at the Temple. Please, come with me." He turned, walking back toward the Temple. Feldrelo probably wasn't going to be happy with him, but he could live with that. However, if it was related to what the Temple found shortly before all this began... it was better to find out sooner than later.

--

"You did what?!" Sovara snapped, her voice echoing in the top chamber of the Temple. "That's information only those of the Temple can know, and you told these people about the tomb?!"

"Actually, I told them you might be able to tell them something interesting about a few months ago." Direr pointed out. "You're the one that mentioned the tomb."

"You should not have been keeping information from us in the first place." Gils said sternly. "If it has anything to do with what has been happening-"

"Yes, you are correct, Guard Captain." Feldrelo interrupted. "Ever since Telis informed me of the timing, I have been considering sending a team into that tomb again myself."

"What tomb... what's all this about?" Miles wondered, completely lost about what they were talking about.

"A hidden tomb, for those that served the Temple greatly here in Balmora. Only a few people know about it. Feldrelo, Telis, Sovara, Valis and I all went there a few months back to lay one of our own to rest." Direr explained. "However, while we were there, one of the urns was accidentally broken... and Valis was killed when one of the passages suddenly collapsed."

"So you believe this to be a curse of some sort?" Razelus wondered, a skeptical look on his face.

Telis nodded. "It is a possibility."

"It's worth a look, at least." Miles said.

Razelus glared at him. "Perhaps. Or it could simply be a waste of time."

"It's the only place we haven't looked, as far as I know." Gils stated. "We should see if anything's there."

Razelus sighed. "Yes, I suppose we should. All right then, where is this tomb located?"

"It's..." Feldrelo hesitated, still clearly uncertain if she wanted to tell them. "beneath Balmora."

"What?!" Miles exclaimed. "There's a tomb... under the town?!"

"Yes." Sovara said, crossing her arms. "It's a secret though, remember? Try not to be so vocal about it."

"You'll need a spell to get in. I can teach you it... but you must promise never to reveal the existence of the tomb to anyone outside this room." Telis said seriously. "Thieves would like nothing more than to steal what's down there, I'm sure." He glanced at Razelus, who was lost in thought.

"A potentially cursed tomb under a city being plagued by nightmares and strange deaths. It certainly does sound like a curse... though I'm not ready to believe something like that yet." Razelus said, looking up at Feldrelo. "All right, it's a deal."

--

Razelus looked from Direr to the rock they were all standing around. "Are you joking? This is the tomb?"

Direr looked around. They were on a small rise of land in the river just south of Balmora. People crossed over the bridges regularly, but it looked like they were alone for the moment. "Just put your hand on the rock and cast the spell."

The three of them followed Direr's lead, casting the spell on the rock. The landscape around them vanished, and the darkened walls of a cave appeared. A lit torch provided the only light, hanging on the wall near what appeared to be any other tomb. The rock that had been between them was replaced by a shrine.

"Be careful." Direr said, walking over to the tomb's entrance. "If anything else is broken, Feldrelo will have your head. Don't touch anything." He said the last part sternly, more to Miles than the others.

The Inside of the tomb was surprisingly well-kept, and no skeletal guards roamed the halls. Since it was hidden so well, there was really no need for it. Ornate urns lined the first, long hallway, ending at a set of doors that led into a grand room, lined with unlit candles and a stone alter in the center of the room. To the right and left, other halls led off into deeper chambers, directly across was a large hanging scroll that covered most of the wall.

Razelus began to approach the scroll, but Direr stopped him. "That is not what we're here for." He said crossly.

"Right you are." Razelus glanced at the scroll again for a moment, then turned to the left hallway. "It would be quicker to split up. I'll take that way."

"I'll come with you." Miles said quickly.

Razelus glared at him, thinking for a few moments. "Very well. Gils, Direr... best of luck to you." He said, walking down the hall at a fast pace, Miles trailing behind him.

Direr looked from Miles to the opposite hall. So much for keeping an eye on him. He sighed, giving Gils a wave and starting down the path. It ended after a short distance, forking to the left and right. Direr pondered something, then headed down the left path, leaving the right to Gils.

One corner and a flight of stairs leading downward later, he came to a dead end. The hall ahead had collapsed, and it looked the same as when he had helped pull Valis' corpse from beneath the rubble. He looked down... and noticed a glimmer on the ground at he feet. A ring.

He heard footsteps coming down the stairs behind him as he crouched down to pick it up. "Good timing, I think I found something." He said, examining the ring. It looked familiar... but he just couldn't place it. "Have a lo-" he stopped short after turning around. He didn't even have a chance to speak before the point of a blade dug into his throat.


	9. Fears and Theories

A Redguard sighed, laying on a few crates that lined the alleyway and staring up at the sky, tapping on the front of his iron cuirass as his mind wandered. Despite having done very little the last few days, he felt tired... every time he had tried to sleep he had a nightmare. Now his nightmare had come to reality. Eydis, the head of the Fighters' Guild branch in Balmora, had given him the order to find out what was happening to the town just because the last few investigators she sent out had either gone missing or found dead.

Now it was his turn. Great. Maybe the ones that disappeared had fled before the search killed them... if that was the case, they had the right idea. He hadn't been with the Fighters' Guild more than a few weeks, and felt no reason to risk his life for them yet. He sat up, yawning. Better to ask around a little. At least that way if he decided to just vanish, it wouldn't be as questionable.

He rubbed his forehead as he walked, Eydis' voice still ringing in his ears. _"Saenir, you find me some answers soon, damn it! I'm tired of whatever is causing this making a mockery of the Fighters' Guild!"_

"Why not go look for answers yourself then, idiot." He grumbled to himself.

He was passing by a guard tower when he heard a pair of serious voices coming from the other side. One sounded like the Hlaalu Guard Captain, Gils... he had talked to him on a few occasions. The other was unfamiliar.

"What are you talking about?" Gils asked.

"I'm saying that it's probably someone with talent in the school of illusion. A lot of talent, judging by this dagger." The other voice replied. "Something doesn't fit, though. Someone with this much skill has to be a mage... but those smugglers you found."

"Yes... those circular slashes around their throats. Only a dagger could have made them, so that points to a thief. I know mages that use daggers as well, though."

"Even you carry a dagger, Gils. The one on your ankle. Anyone could have done that, but no powerful, self-respecting mage would bother with thoughtless use of a weapon. Any fool can kill someone with a blade."

"I'm surprised you noticed I had that... not many people do. Especially surprising since you haven't noticed the person standing outside the door and listening to us."

"Crap." Saenir muttered, dashing away from the door. He heard it open just as he turned the corner around the building, but didn't stop until he was back in the alleyway and away from everyone wandering the streets.

--

He stayed there for almost ten minutes, watching people pass by the alley without even glancing down it. He was trying to figure out what that person Gils had been talking to was trying to suggest, when something caught his attention. Gils passed by the alley, looking rather irritated. Curiosity getting the best of him, Saenir hopped off the crate he had been resting on and hurried after him.

He caught up and got a steady pace beside Gils without him even noticing. Something was clearly on his mind, Gils never let his guard down this much. "Problems in the guard business?" Saenir asked, making the Dunmer jump slightly.

"You... don't sneak up on me like that." He answered, shaking his head. "And of course there are problems. Have you been out of town for the past two months?"

"Sneak up?" Saenir said with a laugh. "Gils, you were so lost in thought a rampant kagouti could have charged you, and you wouldn't have noticed until five seconds _after_ it sunk its fangs into you."

Gils glared sideways at him for a moment, then sighed. "You have a point. I'm very concerned about what's happening. Just because I'm the Captain here doesn't mean I know the cause. People don't seem to realize that."

"Aren't you getting any help?" Saenir wondered, hoping for some information about the person he had been talking to in the tower.

"If you can call in that." Gils scratched his head, glancing down the river as they crossed the bridge over it. "An old friend of mine from the Legion came to help... but I ended up killing him. And now this Dunmer is trying to lend a hand, but I'm not sure about him. He's... unusual."

"Is that right?" Saenir mumbled, thinking._ A Dunmer that appears out of nowhere... maybe he's connected with the incidents?_

"If you'll excuse me, I have to go order a few of the guards to scout the area around the city. Razelus thinks it might help, and I haven't got any better ideas." Gils said, walking off.

Saenir stopped, watching him go. If the Dunmer was part of it, and suggested the guards leave town for a time... something bad was going to happen. He needed information, fast. The question was where to get it. He walked slowly down the road, only one place coming to mind. A place no member of the Fighters' Guild was welcome.

--

Saenir groaned, laying face-down on the street. He cursed as he got up and brushed the dirt off his armor, glancing over his shoulder at the building he had just been hurled out of. The South Wall Cornerclub... he had heard that the Thieves' Guild and Fighters' Guild weren't fond of each other shortly after he joined, but didn't realize how much until just now.

Grumbling about how people should work together at times like this, he walked around to the side of the building and sat on a few crates that had been placed below the balcony off the second floor. Now that he was out of ideas and felt something bad was coming... maybe he should just leave while he had the chance. As he pondered where to go, a piece of paper fluttered down from above him, landing at his feet.

Saenir bent down and grabbed it, wondering where it came from. It was folded, "To the Redguard from the Fighters' Guild" written on the outside. He glanced up, but didn't see anyone peering over the side of the balcony. One of the Thieves' Guild members must have dropped it down so they wouldn't be seen with him. At least one of them wanted to help.

He flipped open the paper, reading the message inside.

_Redguard, a theory has been mentioned here about the cause. Underneath the bridge north of town, there is a cave smugglers once used. A couple years back, two of us went to contact the smugglers that were holed up there, only to find them slaughtered. Nobody knows what happened to them, but with as torn apart as they were, we both believed it to be part of a curse or something of that nature. My friend has recently gone to investigate the cave alone, but I fear he may be in danger. Only a fool or a novice from the Fighters' Guild would dare ask us for help, I hope you are the latter, and are willing to aid his search. If you do go, and come across a Bosmer, tell him P.R. sent you. Best of luck._

Saenir read the message twice before folding the paper and sliding it into his pocket. Now that he had a decent lead, things might be better. He hopped off the crate, running in the direction of the guard towers to find Gils for backup.

Both guard towers were empty. Gils must have gone to search the outskirts of town with the other guards. Heading back to the Fighters' Guild to ask for help, he came to a sudden stop when a high-pitched scream came from the direction of the river. He bolted toward the noise, skidding to a halt as he turned the corner and the bridge came into view. There were two corpses on it, and a Dunmer was hurrying over to both of them. Shortly after the Dunmer had knelt down to examine them, Gils came running from the south side of town, and a handful of people had come out of their houses to investigate the noise.

Saenir watched as the Dunmer spoke with Gils, realizing it must have been the same one that he had been talking to in the guard tower earlier. And if that Dunmer was the cause of Balmora's problems... then the cave mentioned in that note would be unguarded. He turned, running off in the direction of the northern archway out of town. He stopped in the middle of the bridge, looking back at the archway and jumping down into the water. He caught a glimpse of someone chasing him just before it left his view.

Saenir cursed silently, someone was following him... that's all he needed. He moved through the water, seeing the door built into the hillside covered by the bridge. He walked over to it, thinking. Maybe the other person didn't know they had been noticed. He grabbed the handle, opening the door halfway and closing it without even trying to be quiet. Once it was closed, he moved behind one of the stone pillars holding the bridge up and waiting. He heard whoever had been behind him sloshing through the water, and the door open with a steady creak,

He gripped the iron sabre on his belt, peering around the side just as he saw the person step inside the cave. He unsheathed his sword and moved around the edge of the hill, careful not to make any noise. Once he had reached the doorway, the person was only a few steps inside, facing the tunnel beyond. Saenir dashed inside with his sword raised, slamming the hilt of his sword into the back of the person's head and taking them down easier than he expected.

He reached down, rolling the person onto their back. It was a Breton woman. He stared blankly at her for a moment, having expected to find the Dunmer that had been talking with Gils, or at least someone that looked sinister... not some Breton. Something told him he'd made a mistake... and that he had better move both of them before whatever really lived in this cave turned up.

--

Saenir watched the tunnel leading to the entrance, perched on the upper platform that had been set up in the first room he came across in the cave. After arranging the crates that had been up there to make a place to hide behind, he laid the Breton down behind two and crouched behind a third and a barrel, keeping a close eye on both the passage out and the stairs up to where they were. It had been almost an hour since he clubbed the Breton, and still nothing had gone by. Maybe this cave was unrelated to the incidents in town.

A soft moan to his right caught his attention. The Breton was waking up at last. She opened her eyes, staring up at the ceiling and looking very dazed. It took her a few moments to even sit up and notice him.

"Headache?" He asked simply, his eyes darting between her and the tunnel.

"W-who are you?" She stuttered. She sounded scared... either she was another investigator, or a good actress.

"Saenir than you... to you." He corrected himself quickly, now was no time to make jokes with a potential enemy.

"I'm... Lithe. I'm working for the Mages' Guild to find out what's happening to Balmora..." She said rather quickly.

"That's my plan as well, only I'm with the Fighters' Guild. I take it you were following me because I was suspicious?"

"Ah..." Lithe hesitated. "...y-yes... sorry."

"Don't worry about it. I'm sorry I tried to smash your head in for the same reason." He stood up, walking around the crates. "How about we stick together for now?" He offered, extending a hand to help her up.

"Um... okay..." She muttered, eying him suspiciously. Though he couldn't really blame her for it.

The two of them continued into the cave, coming to a dining area and two paths leading off to their sides. Saenir approached the table, examining the plates of rotting meat and scattered silverware. He picked up a fork, surprised that bandits would actually use something so shiny and not just sell it for gold.

Something red dripped down onto the table, landing on one of the pieces of meat. Saenir glanced up, and promptly hit the wall as he backed away from the table. Words had appeared on the ceiling, written in what looked like blood. It read, _"You had your chance to leave, now we are coming for you."_

"Maybe we should leave... very quickly." Saenir said, still pressed against the wall.

"Why...?" Lithe wondered, looking around.

"Are you blind?! That!" Saenir pointed the fork in his hand at the ceiling.

She walked up to the table, staring up rather blankly. She turned to Saenir. "I don't see anything... are you okay?"

Saenir couldn't believe what he was hearing. How could she not see it? He opened his mouth to speak, but stopped when Lithe suddenly snatched the fork out of his hand and looked back at the ceiling. The words faded, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"I see... it's like that dagger Razelus told me about." She mumbled, slowly spinning in place and staring up. "It's an illusion. Hold the fork and the words appear above you... I've never heard of illusion magicka like this."

"It's a trick?" Saenir watched her, she didn't look nearly as nervous as she had before now.

"A skilled enchanter... this place must be connected somehow. I have to let Razelus know." Lithe said, pocketing the fork and turning to the path back up when a heavy thump surprised both of them. "W-what was that?" She stuttered. Apparently it didn't take much to make her nervous again.

Saenir readied his sword, going over to the tunnel the noise had come from. A faint grinding was coming from somewhere beyond. He turned to Lithe, gestured for her to follow and crept down the path. It ended at a narrow room, a few stairs leading up to a platform built into the wall, and another on that leading to an even higher platform.

He started up the first makeshift staircase, coming to a stop when he stepped on the platform. By the next part up, one of the rocks sticking out of the wall looked off, as if there was a gap between it and the wall. Waving for Lithe to wait down below, he moved to the side of the rock, giving it a pull. There was a grinding as it slid along the wall, revealing a narrow, rounded tunnel that sloped down into darkness.

Saenir listened, but didn't hear anything below. He stepped in front of it to climb in, and something flew from the shadows and struck him. He shouted in pain and shock, falling onto his back. The tail inch of a crossbow bolt was sticking out of his waist, somehow having hit the small, unprotected space between his cuirass and greaves.

He looked at Lithe, who was still at the bottom of the stairs and clearly stunned by what happened. He mouthed the word "run" to her, knowing she wouldn't be able to help. If she came up the stairs, she'd probably just get shot as well. She hesitated, biting her lip and glancing from him to the tunnel leading out. Saenir gave her a stern look, repeating what he had mouthed in a rather weak voice. She nodded, taking two slow steps away before running down the tunnel.

Saenir glanced down at the passage near his feet, wondering why whoever had shot him hadn't come up to finish the job by now. A scream echoed down the tunnel, followed by clangs of steel on rock.

Saenir swore, forcing himself to try and stand up. He didn't get far before something suddenly tightened around his ankles. He looked down to see a pair of pale arms reaching from the passage and beginning to pull him in. He grasped for anything that happened to be nearby, but he was too weak to keep a firm grip on anything. As another scream from Lithe came from below and the hands slowly dragged him into the darkness, he finally understood what the Dunmer in the guard tower had been trying to suggest.


	10. Raven

Raven slammed her fist on the table, shaking the three half-empty glasses resting on it. "That idiot, running off. Sethes is not going to be happy about this." She grumbled to the Khajiit and Argonian sitting across from her. "Where the hell could Andre have gone?"

The Khajiit and Argonian glanced at each other, unsure of what the she was talking about. The Dunmer had simply sat down at the table and started muttering angrily as she drank without even introducing herself.

Raven picked up her glass, finishing it off and slamming it back on the table. "Useless Breton. I had better go look for him again." She said, getting up and leaving without another word. On her way out of the cornerclub, a Redguard tried to stop her to ask something, but she pushed past him without bothering to find out what.

She stumbled outside, the light hurting her eyes. Apparently she had been in there longer than she had thought. Judging by the sun, it was almost evening. She cursed silently, dashing over to the nearest house and leaping onto it with the help of a jump spell. She hurried to the edge overlooking the river, scanning for any sign of Andre.

She didn't see anyone that looked like him... in fact, she didn't see anyone at all. The whole town was strangely quiet, even the guards were nowhere to be seen. She glanced up at the sky again, thinking. If it was almost evening, and with all the odd happenings around town, maybe most people weren't fond of going outside after dark anymore.

A yell and crash made her turn around, looking back at the cornerclub. Taking a few steps forward, she could see the Redguard that had passed her getting off the ground, obviously having just been roughly escorted out. She smirked, thinking he must have asked a very insulting question to someone important to the Thieves' Guild.

She watched him sit down on the crates beside the building before turning back to the river and continuing to wonder where her sorry excuse for a partner could have gotten, when she heard a door creak open in the direction of the cornerclub. A balding man walked onto the balcony she recognized as Phane, the cornerclub bartender.

He scanned the roads below, leaning over the edge of the balcony without even noticing Raven watching him. He caught sight of the Redguard on the crates just below him and dropped a piece of paper, before taking a few steps away from the edge. The Redguard picked up whatever Phane had dropped, glanced up at the balcony for a moment and turned back to the paper, reading whatever was on it.

The Redguard suddenly jumped off the crate and ran toward the southernmost bridge over the river. Phane watched him for a second, then headed back inside. Raven glanced from where Phane left her sight to the Redguard, who had just reached the opposite bank and was now running by the southern city wall. She took two steps to the edge of the roof, intending to follow him, but stopped upon noticing something on the center bridge over the river. A corpse.

She hesitated, looking along the river. Nobody had been around when the Redguard distracted her, and she knew the body wasn't there either. She would have heard a person being murdered, so it must have been left there... but how anyone could leave a body in the middle of town in so little time, and taking the chance of being seen, was beyond her. She was about to jump off the building for a closer look, when movement across the river got her attention.

A Bosmer was walking along the other side, going over to the body. Raven crouched, hoping the Bosmer hadn't noticed her and keeping an eye on him. As he approached the corpse and bent over to examine it, two more people appeared on the opposite side of the river. One of them yelled something, there was a sudden burst of flame, and someone screaming. Raven instinctively dropped onto her stomach, thinking one of the two had attacked the Bosmer and would be after her if she was noticed.

Once the light from the fire had faded, she cautiously peered over the edge of the building. A Dunmer was standing over the charred corpse of the Bosmer, and a few guards were rushing over to him. The Dunmer began talking calmly with one of the guards, they must have known each other. When a few other people started to gather around, she dropped off the roof and landed silently behind the growing group without being noticed. She moved closer to hear what they were talking about, but got distracted upon getting a better view of the original corpse.

It was Andre.

Raven hesitated for a moment, then swore. The idiot had gotten himself killed, Sethes _really_wasn't going to be happy now. She looked over at the guard and Dunmer, who were now heading across the bridge with a couple other people. She thought she recognized one of them, but couldn't get a good look at their face. Needing an idea of what happened, and decided to follow the group. They looked to have a destination in mind, which meant she might be able to learn something.

Walking along the river and crossing over one of the other bridges, she tailed the four of them to the Temple, but stopped as they went inside. She weighed her options. Going in might get her caught, there were never many places to hide in a temple, but staying outside would net less information. Before she could choose, the door started to open and she moved to the side before she could be seen.

Moving around the outer wall of the temple's archway, she heard hurried footsteps and someone muttering to themselves. "Why is it always me that gets put on lookout? The Temple doesn't get that many visitors as it is. Sad, really."

Raven swore under her breath. If what was going on in there was important enough to warrant a guard, she should have rushed in right after them without a second thought. Now she was stuck outside, since taking out a member of the Temple would be a very bad idea. With the path blocked, she did the only thing she could do.

---

Almost twenty minutes passed before the group of four emerged from the Temple. Raven watched them in silence from her vantage point upon the Fighters Guild rooftop. They stopped to talk something over, then started for the north side of town. Raven moved from the Fighters Guild to the Mages' after they went by. Once they were out of sight behind a building, she jumped down and hurried after them.

When she arrived at the north city gate they were already halfway across the first bridge over the river. She waited for them to get all the way across before following, but once they got to the small patch of land in the river, they turned onto it. She watched in confusion as they gathered around a rock on the islet, looked around briefly, and vanished in a flash of light.

After a moment of surprise, Raven dashed across the bridge and over to the rock they had been around. She walked around it slowly once, examining it. It looked like your average rock, no special markings or anything. She placed a hand on it like they had and waited a moment. Nothing happened. Cursing again, she continued across the bridge, made her way up the side of the eastern mountain and onto the Balmora city wall, following it until she was able to jump onto the balcony of the South Wall Cornerclub. She had a good view of the island from there, so she sat down on one of the crates and waited.

It was almost an hour before they reappeared, and it was beginning to get dark, both from the sun setting and the clouds continuing to gather. She ran along the city wall as the headed toward the gate back into town, noticing they were a member short from when they disappeared earlier.

She followed the trio all the way back to the Temple, where they stopped outside the walled area. One of the group took a step ahead, saying something she couldn't make out. Someone screamed, a fireball appeared from the archway to the Temple and connected with one of the group, sending them rolling across the ground. The other two ran in opposite directions and Raven dove for cover as more spheres of fire shot forth, scorching the ground and sides of buildings.

_Looks like someone hasn't learned the value of being subtile._ She thought, ducking as another fireball flew by her head. _This is just great. Now what the hell am I supposed to do?_


	11. Miles

"Master..." Miles muttered, following Razelus down the hall of the tomb.

"I'm not your master anymore." He replied sternly. "I never should have been... I don't have the skills to teach others, I should have learned that after my first apprentice."

Miles sighed, looking over his shoulder. Thinking he should have gone with Direr or Gils instead. Then again, Razelus never even tried to listen before now. It was probably the only chance he'd get to explain. "About what I did... I'm sorry it made you so angry, but I can't honestly say I'm sorry I did it."

Razelus slowed his pace. "Just like before... greed is too powerful of a motivator." He sighed. "I thought you were better than that, Miles. That's the only reason I agreed to train you in the first place."

"What are you talking about?" Miles asked, wondering how Razelus could think that. "I didn't join them out of greed, I joined them to help you!"

"Helping me by joining a group of smugglers. That makes a lot of sense." He said sarcastically. "The only reason anyone is in a group like that is because they either like gold or murder. I'm just glad you weren't the latter."

"You're wrong." Miles said, kicking a stone against the wall. Razelus turned, raising a questioning eyebrow at him. Miles stopped, realizing how what he said could have been taken the wrong way. "T-that's not what... I didn't mean I like killing people! I mean I don't like gold! I mean-"

"Miles." Razelus interrupted. "Take a breath, and explain. Slowly. How the hell was getting involved in illegal activities supposed to help me?"

"It's..." Miles scratched his head. "Why are you here right now?"

Razelus blinked. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Just answer me, it might make it easier on both of us."

"I'm here to solve the mystery of Balmora." He said with a shrug.

"Yes..." Miles crossed his arms, glancing at one of the urns he was by. "...but why are you _really_ here?"

Razelus hesitated, turning to the tunnel ahead. "To get my idiot brother out of jail. Again."

"Exactly. Do you remember what was going on when you found out I was working with the smugglers?"

"Valen had been arrested..." He took a deep breath. "...for murder."

"And there's your answer."

Razelus turned to face him. "What? You were trying to earn gold to bail him out of prison?"

Miles sighed, shaking his head. "Honestly, Master... how can you be so smart and so stupid at the same time? There are better ways to make gold than smuggling. The only reason I joined that organization was for proof. I overheard something in town that made me think your brother had been set up, so I was trying to find out."

Razelus said nothing for a few moments, running things through his mind. "A few days after I dismissed you... Valen was released becuase of new evidence. Was that because of you?"

"It's not like anyone else was trying to find anything."

Silence lingered for a few moments before Razelus spoke. "Why?"

"Probably because of his record."

"No..." Razelus turned to face him. "...I mean why would you still help Valen out after I dismissed you?"

Miles shrugged. "You taught me a lot, Master. Maybe not about magicka, but you were pretty hard on me about life, always following the right path. Never letting greed and such cloud my judgement. I may not have gotten along with your brother, but I knew he wasn't a killer. It was the right thing to do."

Razelus stared at him the way he used to, when he was trying to gauge how honest his apprentice was being. He began to speak, but a yell from down the tunnel distracted him. They both turned as Gils ran up.

"We've got... a problem..." He said between heavy breaths.

Razelus' expression turned serious. "What now?"

"It's Direr." Gils glanced at Miles, the Breton's face was already beginning to pale. "He's dead."

---

Miles stared at the ground as they transported out of the tomb. He hadn't said a word since seeing Direr's corpse laying against the rubble, the hilt of a dagger sticking out of his throat. The dagger Razelus was now twirling around in his fingers.

"Quite odd, I must say. No enchantment like the others. I'd say that makes this killing more of a sudden choice, no time to hide or trap the body." Razelus stopped spinning the dagger, taking it in a backhand grip and raising the side of the blade to examine it. "Unless this was done by someone different. It seems doubtful though."

Gils swore. "I should have just stayed with him. If we hadn't spilt up..."

"Come now, there's no reason to blame yourself. None of us expected a killer in a place like that." Razelus looked up as the passed under the gate into town. "It's quite unnerving, I must say. It's like the person, or persons, we're after are keeping an eye on us and getting one step ahead."

"At least it narrows down the suspects. That place was only open to highly ranked members of the Temple, so it had to be one of them." Gils pointed out.

Razelus shook his head. "I had thought of that... but then realized it might not be. When Feldrelo was explaining how to use the spell, your focus was solely on her, I expect?"

Gils nodded.

"As was mine. Which means if someone happened to be there under the cover of an invisibility or chameleon spell, listening to the instructions as well, we wouldn't have noticed." He explained. "A mistake on my part, I should have made sure the room was secure."

"Damn it." Gils muttered crossly, kicking one of the crates they were passing by. "I'm the Guard Captain here, if anyone should have thought to check the place for agents, it was me."

"With everything that's been happening, it's not that surprising nobody thought to. Not even Feldrelo." Miles mumbled.

Razelus looked at him for a moment. "Yes. Not even her." He nodded, drifting off into thought.

"Any ideas about where to look next?" Gils inquired.

"First we tell Feldrelo about Direr." He said, tossing the dagger at Gils, who caught it by the blade in one bonemold-clad hand. "Then we go from there."

"You have no plan at all, do you?" Gils wondered, sliding the dagger into the hilt on his right ankle.

"Oh, I have a plan, all right." He grinned at the Dunmer. "I'm just putting all the pieces together."

They were approching the Temple when Razelus came to a sudden stop. Miles looked from him to the Temple, noticing someone on their knees in the middle of what passed as a tiny courtyard. Judging by the look on Razelus' face, Miles could tell something was wrong.

"Are you all right?" Razelus asked.

The person quickly straightened and turned, flinging a fireball spell at them while she screamed. It streaked by Razelus, but hit Gils squarely in the chest, sending him rolling from the blast.

Miles dove to the side as more flames spewed from the archway of the temple, checking to see Razelus was okay after getting out of their attacker's range. Razelus had gone in the other direction, he was shouting something in the direction of the Temple, but Miles couldn't make it out over the blasts of fire. Razelus looked up, crouched, and leapt over the wall around the Temple courtyard. A moment later the fire stopped coming from the archway, and instead began shooting up into the sky. Miles moved to the side of the arch, cautiously peering inside.

Razelus was behind the mage, holding her by the wrists and forcing her aim skyward. "Calm down, Lithe!" He yelled. "I don't know what happened, but you're safe now!"

---

It took a few minutes, but Razelus managed to stop Lithe's unprovoked attack. However, she stammered on about someone attacking her in a cavern, not making much sense. Razelus and Gils took her into the Temple, but Miles chose to stay outside. He couldn't bring himself to face Feldrelo and inform her of Direr's death, so Razelus offered to do it for him and suggested he head to the Eight Plates for a drink.

Which is where he sat now, staring at the bottle of Grief in front of him. He shifted in his chair, looking around the rather empty tavern. His thoughts drifted back to Direr, who brought him here about once a week. Sitting by himself felt strange, but that problem was soon replaced with the Dunmer woman that took a seat across from him.

"Hello, Miles." She said, her expression serious. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

Miles took one look at her face and swallowed, hoping it would counter his sudden urge to puke. "Raven?"

"You remember me, I'm flattered. You remember my normal duties too, then?"

"Training potential leaders and..." He hesitated, wondering if it would happen the moment the words escaped his lips.

"Executing those that betray Sethes." She finished for him. "I'm not here for that, though. I'm here about the problems around Balmora. You have information, I need some."

"Let me guess." He leaned against the table. "The normal 'tell me what I want to know and I won't kill you' line which usually ends with the informant dead either way?"

She blinked at him. "Miles, I'm shocked you'd suggest that. Didn't we get along when you were still part of the operation?"

"You don't have friends. You made that point to me many times. Like when you and the others turned on our old boss."

"Can't argue with that." She shrugged. "Though honestly, after working for Sethes this long, I miss Neros. The guy was crazy, but at least he had a sense of humor. Sethes is all business, all the time. I sat down here to exchange information with an old ally, if I planned to take it I would've put a knife to your throat and dragged you into the alley when that Breton tried to burn down your group."

Miles swallowed again. "What do you want to know?"

---

After explaining what he could to Raven, the two of them left the Eight Plates together. She was insistent on coming along with him and Razelus, saying finding the source of the problems would be easier for both of them that way. They met up with Razelus, Gils and Lithe just outside the Temple. After Raven delivered a very convincing lie about being part of the Thieves Guild, Razelus repeated what Lithe had told Feldrelo about the cavern.

"So... someone shot this Redguard guy, then came after you?" Miles wondered as they walked toward the bridge north of town.

"Not likely, my guess is we're dealing with two people." Gils said, crossing his arms. "One shot Saenir and another attacked Lithe. We should be careful."

"Very." Razelus muttered, glancing at Raven. "Keep your guard up, Miles."

"And be ready with your healing magicka, just in case." Raven suggested.

Miles nodded. "Right."

The five of them crossed over the bridge and followed the slope down to the door. Gils led the way, his sword at the ready. The five of them crept into the cavern, listening for any sound of movement. Lithe pointed them in the direction of the secret passage when they reached the fork. This time the route was fully closed, and Saenir was gone. However, the traces of blood that led to the false rock gave them a good idea of what happened.

Razelus waved everyone away and gave the rock a push with his foot. It slid to the side with some effort and hurried to the opposite side of the hole everyone else was on. He nodded to Gils, who crouched down, taking his helmet from where it was hanging on his belt and slowly moving it in front of the tunnel so it would look like a Hlaalu Guard peering in to anyone down there. A click came from below, and a crossbow bolt shot the helmet out of Gils' hands. Razelus hurled a fire spell down the hole before the helmet hit the ground, and the explosion when it hit blended with a scream from someone below.

Gils darted down the passage, followed by the rest of them. At the end they found a Redguard slumped against the wall, his face and clothes burnt from the attack. Gils brought his sword down on the crossbow nearby and broke it before crouching down and binding the Redguard's arms with some rope he usually kept with him to detain anyone that needed it.

Razelus moved into the next chamber and came to a stop. The walls glittered in the light of the torches placed along them and Raven let out a small gasp.

"This place... it's..." Raven stuttered.

"Beautiful?" Miles offered, his eyes widening at the sight.

"I was going to say worth a fortune, but that works too."

Lithe approached one of the walls, looking at some of the ore poking out of it. "Diamonds. They're all diamonds." She mumbled, running her finger along one of the raw jewels in question.

"Once again, it all breaks down to money. Typical." Razelus scoffed, looking around the room. "Where's the other guard hiding?"

The click and woosh of a crossbow met Miles' ears a second before Lithe cried out in pain. She collapsed onto her back, the tail of a bolt sticking out of her right side. Miles rushed over to help as Razelus let another fire spell fly in the direction of the shooter. A crossbow flew out of where the spell hit, landing with a clatter on the ground.

"Decent aim, I must say." A voice from behind them said. Everyone but Razelus turned to face it.

"I'm not a fool, either." He said, keeping his gaze on where the the crossbow had come from. "You're an Illusionist. Using a sound spell to make it seem like you're behind us is amateur work."

The voice laughed, this time coming from where Razelus was looking. Everyone turned back that way except Miles, who was focused on prying the bolt out of Lithe's ribcage so he could use his healing magicka. "Very good detection skills as well. Yes. What's your name, Dunmer?"

"Razelus Romandas." He replied, keeping his tone steady. "And you are?"

The voice didn't answer right away, but it broke into a laugh again after a brief silence. "THE Romandas? No wonder you were able to get this far. My name is Rethin, my associate you torched is Orn, though I doubt you have heard of either of us before."

Miles' grip slipped from the base of the bolt and he looked at Razelus. "'The' Romandas?" He wondered.

"Forget it Miles, just help Lithe." Razelus snapped. "Alright Rethin, since you know about me you should know what I can do, too. Just give up and get out of this alive."

"Oh, I don't think so. They'll execute someone like me. I'm fighting for my survival here, and I have more than just Illusions on my side. I also have..." His voice changed positions, coming from behind them again. "...brute force."

Only Miles turned this time, but it wasn't fast enough to warn Raven about the Altmer behind her before the club he was wielding connected with the back of her head. She yelled, dropping to her knees as the Altmer rushed Gils, slamming into him and knocking him off his feet.

Razelus spun around, removing a dagger from his pocket and brandishing it at Rethin. He took a quick step back upon seeing the Altmer's face. "You're-"

Rethin smiled, his fangs glistening in the torchlight. "Out for blood? Quite right." He said, lunging at Razelus.

"Damn vampire!" Razelus shouted, raising his arm and blasting Rethin with another fire spell. It didn't stop him, but it slowed him down enough for Raven to get back on her feet and fling a throwing knife at him. It sunk into his lower back, not doing anything except turning his line of attack to her. She was still off-balance from the blow to the head, unable to dodge before he jammed the end of his club into her stomach. She stumbled backwards and Rethin swung again, the club connecting with her forehead.

She dropped onto ground with a thud and Gils rushed at Rethin's back, sword raised. The Altmer sidestepped as the blade came down, avoiding it and bashing Gils in the head with his free hand as he spun around to face him. Gils fell, dropping his sword and landing on his side.

Rethin leapt over Gils and swung his club at the dagger in Razelus' hand, striking the blade and knocking the weapon across the room. Razelus tried to ready a spell, but Rethin brought his club down on Razelus' left arm and there was a sickening crack of bone. Razelus yelled, losing concentration long enough for Rethin to grab him by the throat with one hand and pin him against the wall.

Rethin smirked. "The stories were wrong about you. Now it's time for you to die."

"Actually..." Razelus strained to speak with the tight grip around his throat. "...this is where... you burn."

Rethin laughed and began to tighten his grip, but it went slack as something was plunged into his back. Agony shot through his body and he fell over screaming as he burst into flames. He flailed on the ground screaming for a few moments before he went still and the flames faded, leaving behind only a charred, unidentifiable corpse.

Razelus took a few deep breaths, rubbing his throat and grinning weakly at Miles, who was sitting on the ground behind where Rethin had been standing, having fallen over from the sudden combustion of the Altmer. "Good timing."

"I had to do something... it was just... I..." Miles mumbled, getting back on his feet and handing Razelus the piece of cloth before dashing back over to Lithe and hoping that trying to help her would get his mind off what he had just done.

Razelus bent down and used the cloth to retrieve the dagger from Rethin's back, wrapping it up and returning it to his pocket before going over to help the others. He healed Raven as Miles mended Lithe's wound. She'd lost a lot of blood, but Miles said that since her ribcage caught the bolt it wasn't able to puncture anything vital. Gils unsteadily got to his feet, healing his own aches.

"Glad that's over." Gils said, going to lean against the wall.

Miles helped Lithe sit up as she muttered something about her aching side. "Me too... maybe now things will go back to normal in Balmora." He said, casting another healing spell on Lithe.

"I doubt it. Once word of the mine gets out, there'll be a different kind of chaos to worry about." Raven commented.

"Actually, there is one more immediate problem to worry about." Razelus stated, crossing his arms. "From my understanding, Lithe and the Redguard were attacked at about the same time as Direr was killed. Which indicates a third person involved."

Miles stared up at him. "What? It wasn't one of them who killed Direr?"

Razelus shook his head. "Oh, no. Direr was stabbed. Rethin could have broken his neck just as easily, or bitten it. Plus that Orn fellow didn't have knife on him, just crossbow bolts. We're looking for someone that's good with blades." He said, looking at Raven.

She glared at him, and he just smirked. "What're you suggesting?" She asked, her tone cold.

"I'm suggesting, of course, that the third killer is standing right there." He said, raising one arm as if presenting someone.

Miles looked from Razelus to where he was gesturing, unable to believe what he was hearing. Razelus just stood there confidently, looking at the one he proclaimed the third killer.

At Gils.


	12. Guilty

It all fit. Gils was unaccounted for when the Breton's body appeared on the bridge. He had killed the Imperial Knight investigating Balmora. He had been the one that accompanied Direr in the tomb, and it was Gils' dagger that was found in the Dunmer's throat as he had proved himself by returning it to its sheath. In his opinion, the proof was flawless. Gils was the one that orchestrated the entire ordeal.

The shocked expressions held by everyone in the room made him smile. He enjoyed nothing more than seeing the truth behind a matter that his allies couldn't, probably due in part to the Altmer half of his heritage. Even Gils himself looked gloriously dumbfounded that he had discovered the truth. Next, without a doubt, would come the denial.

"Are you insane, Razelus?" Gils snapped. Right on cue.

Razelus smiled at him. "I think it's better to ask if you are, good Captain. You tormented the whole of Balmora for over two months... over these?" He gestured to the diamond ore protruding from the walls. "It's astounding what chaos greed can bring."

"The guard's the enemy?" Raven wondered with a laugh. "Just like old times, huh, Miles?"

Miles made a choking sound and gestured quickly, obviously in an attempt to tell her to shut up. Not that it mattered. "Forget it, Miles. It's not hard to guess she's part of that old group you joined."

"Oh, really? How would you know something like that?" Raven inquired, glaring at him.

"I knew he joined, I'm certain he didn't know you when I knew him, and in all honesty..." He looked at her, noting her black outfit and the concealed dagger at her waist. "...you don't appear to be the lawful type."

"How rude. You planning to turn me in, then?" Her hand drifted to where the dagger was and Razelus shook his head.

"We have more important matters to deal with than a petty smuggler. Like restraining Gils."

"Fool, I've done nothing to aid these people!" Gils protested. "You claim to be intelligent, can't you see something's wrong with this situation?"

"I can." Raven said, crossing her arms. "You're still trying to deny it. I may not have been here long enough to find out much, but I saw you kill that other guard. That's enough for me."

"I was defending myself from someone I thought had lost his mind!" Gils snapped.

"Yet you ran him through! Don't tell me you guards don't know how to disarm or knock out an opponent, even someone like me knows how to do that!" She countered.

Razelus grinned. "Quite right. Now then... are you going to come quietly?" He already knew the answer, and what would come after it, but felt he may as well ask. Who knows, he might be surprised.

"Not a chance." Gils growled, readying his sword. "You're crazy, thinking I could be behind this. It's a safer bet that you're really the one pulling the strings."

Refusal and a poor attempt to shift the blame. Predictable as ever. "As you wish." Razelus lifted his hand and a blast of flame struck Gils in the chest, sending him slamming into the wall and his sword clattering across the ground.

Staggering as he landed, Gils reached for the dagger on his ankle only to be thrown to the side as Raven dashed forward, her foot lashing out and giving him a vicious kick across the face. He landed with a heavy thump and Raven took the dagger as he lay unconscious on the cold stone floor.

"I've always wanted to legally smack around a guard captain." Raven said with a satified smirk on her face. "Too bad he's not up for more."

"It's best we get them back to town so..." Razelus trailed off as he looked toward where the archer laid bound. Blood was pooled around his head, coming from a slice across his throat. "It appears I was careless. Gils must have executed the poor fool when he tied his hands."

"Works for me, at least now we only have one to drag back to Balmora." Raven said, grabbing Gils' left leg and pulling. "Give me a hand here, would you?"

"Certainly." Flicking his wrist in Gils' direction with little thought, a purple glow surrounded him and Raven nearly toppled over as he floated off the ground. "You pull, I'll keep him levitated. Miles, how is Lithe?"

The Breton looked up at him blankly, obviously having a difficult time accepting what had happened. It took him a few seconds to find his voice. "With a little rest, she'll be fine."

"Excellent. Shall we be going back to the Temple then? No doubt Feldrelo will want to know what transpired, and help us escort the captain here to Fort Moonmoth."

Nodding, Miles helped Lithe to her feet and they made their way out of the cave.

xxx

Feldrelo frowned at Gils after hearing Razelus' recounting of events. "I see, so that's what happened."

"You can't honestly believe all this!" Gils shouted, his arms bound behind his back.

"With everything I've heard about the matter, I agree that all evidence points to you." She replied calmly, a sharp edge to her voice. "Unless Razelus has been lying about something." Feldrelo glanced at the other three.

Lithe and Miles just shook their heads, but Raven spoke up. "I know how to spot a liar, even a good one. Razelus hasn't said anything that wasn't the truth. I'm sure Gils knows that all too well, right?"

The Dunmer scowled at her. "The events may have happened, but his conclusion is wrong!"

Telis, who had been standing by Feldrelo in silence throughout it all, finally spoke. "It is not Razelus', or even Feldrelo's thoughts on the matter you should be worried about. It is those of the Imperial Legion."

Feldorelo nodded. "Quite right. Come, Razelus, I will join you on your trip to Fort Moonmoth, we will make certain they hear everything that happened, and then I will see about having your brother released from prison."

"You can't-! I'm not-! Would you just-!" Gils stammered, still trying to claim innocence.

"Will somebody shut him up? The relentless denial's getting on my nerves." Sovara said, glaring at him.

"Gladly." Raven smiled, slamming her fist into the back of Gils' head and dropping him like a sack of ash yams.

"Thank you."

"You knocked him out, so you get to drag him again, Raven." Razelus stated.

"Fine with me, as long as you don't object to my bumping his head along the ground." She replied, grabbing Gils' ankle as Razelus once again levitated him.

Razelus shrugged. "Do as you will."

"I don't think Lithe can walk that far in her condition. Is it all right if I stay behind with her to make sure she's going to be okay?" Miles asked.

"Yes, it is better she rest here for now. I'd rather she didn't die from reopening her wound on the trip or in some other foolish manner after she survived everything else that was thrown at her." Razelus said, following Feldrelo out of the Temple. "However, if the Legion is insistant upon hearing your retelling of events as well, I will come back to get you."

"Thanks, Master." Miles muttered, watching them go.

xxx

Razelus and Feldrelo crossed the bridges out of town, headed toward the fort with Raven dragging Gils carelessly behind her. None of them noticed the figure watching them with a smile from the shadow of the city wall.

"That went even better than I hoped." The figure said with a laugh. "Taking the time to set up that stupid Guard Captain was worth it. If I didn't know better, even I'd think he was guilty."

Once the group had crossed over the second bridge, the figure pushed itself away from the wall and headed back into Balmora. "Well then, I'd better lay low for a while and then find a good excuse to get out of this town, maybe even off Vvardenfell altogether. I hear Cyrodiil is nice this time of year..."


End file.
